The room at the Cosmopolitan was bedecked with flickering fairy lights, there were sweets on every table, an enticing buffet stacked with crisps, mini pork pies, mini cornish pasties, dips, cocktail sausages, peanuts, mince pies, chocolate log, and all manner of home made festive loveliness from our members including chocolate dipped marshmellows, ginger cookies, a very intense chocolately rockie road type confection, mincemeat chelsea buns - it's making me salivate as I try and remember all the loveliness on offer. Suffice to say there was loads and all of it was delicious.

Once the business part of the meeting was done with it was on with the cheesy xmas songs, sampling the delights of the buffet, chatting and the making of suffolk puffs with festive fabric. There was enough buffet for us to take a plate of treaty goodness to the staff on duty at the Cosmopolitan to say thank you too.

A big thank you to all our members, guests, speakers, workshop leaders who have helped make 2013 such a success - and here's to 2014.

Details of all our meetings and workshops can be found at www.bunsandroses.co.uk and looking forward to seeing you at a meeting or workshop soon.

For
our November meeting the Roses were joined by Marianna from Women’s Health
Matters who spoke to the group about the charities work with women across the
city. From working with asylum seekers to those affected by domestic violence,
as well as offering support for teenage mums and giving sexual health advice the
charity works to improve the lives of many of Leeds’ women.

Marianna then spoke to the group about a variety of sexual health
issues including how to conduct a breast exam and chatted about cervical
screening. The Roses then had a chance to have a go and see if they could
detect the lumps in Marianna’s fake breasts!

This year our annual fundraiser had a rather goulish theme with the Roses descending on Toast for the Halloween themed Roses Horror show.

The Roses not only raised a lot of money for the group with ticket fees and a fab raffle (the prizes were great it has to be said) but there was also a cake competition – which was one not by a Buns & Roses but by a man! Dobo took away the well deserved prize for his fantastic cookie monster cakes which the judges say not only taste great but looked amazing too.

While the best dress prize went to Steve for his fab murdered husband look and Becky who wore an impressive homemade spider’s web hat.